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Until the first shovel is rammed into a patch of Markham field that is just a slapshot away from Highway 407, there will be detractors who continue to feel the proposed GTA Centre is merely a pipe dream.

True, no concrete has been poured, as of yet. Fair enough.

But, just maybe, that day is coming. And it might be closer than you think.

In the wee hours Wednesday morning, after most of the media and special interest groups had vacated the chamber, Markham city council moved forward with the next step toward turning the proposed GTA Centre into a reality.

With most of the headlines focusing on the narrow 7-6 vote to continue forging ahead with financing, council then met again and gave the thumbs-up to the project’s blueprint.

“It’s something that really hasn’t been reported, but council went on to approve our site plan,” Graeme Roustan, one of the project’s private investors, told the Toronto Sun on Wednesday afternoon. “That decision really is a milestone in the potential development of the GTA Centre beoming reality.

“Now that the site plan has been approved, we can apply for a building permit.”

Partners will wait to submit such an application until council approves a memorandum of understanding, a document detailing the duties of both the city and the private investors moving forward. Council is expected to vote on the memorandum next month.

In the meantime, how much of a “milestone” will Wednesday’s proceedings be when it comes to luring an NHL franchise to the 905 area code? It is far too soon to offer up any guarantees. Or to start printing T-shirts pimping the Markham Coyotes.

But what Wednesday’s decisions did accomplish was to open the window a bit wider for the league, when and if it is ready, to view Markham as a viable alternative for its on-ice product.

Interestingly, both Roustan and Quebecor president Pierre Karl Peladeau, who is spearheading efforts to have the NHL return to Quebec City, learned quite a bit about the process of securing an NHL team when they were among the finalists bidding for the Montreal Canadiens back in 2009. While they didn’t win, both understood that it was wise to keep your mouth shut rather than using the type of aggressive tactics that got Jim Balsillie blackballed by the league.

From the league’s point of view, deputy commissioner Bill Daly has been quite clear with his message: That there are no definitive plans to expand to 32 teams. Unless that changes, Quebec City, Markham and Seattle will all hope that a franchise such as Phoenix will relocate to one of their proposed buildings.

In the case of Markham, there is always the question of Leafs territorial rights. To that end, Daly has continuously emphasized that any veto powers under such circumstances would belong to the league’s board of governors, not the Toronto franchise.

As for allowing a second team into the GTA, does it not make sense that the suits running the Leafs would be more open to the idea now that the franchise is controlled by communications giants Bell and Rogers? The additional broadcast revenues that a Markham team would offer would be intriguing to these media mammoths, to be sure.

Whenever officials from the league and GTA Centre have held discussions, the NHL’s message has been clear: Do not assume you will get a team, either short- or long-term. Good advice.

At the same time, the possibility of an NHL team landing in Markham one day is more feasible today than it was on Tuesday evening.

VENUE FIRST, AUBUT SAYS

In a chicken-or-the-egg debate which asks: “Which comes first, the arena or the team?,” former Nordiques owner Marcel Aubut gives the nod to the building.

Whether it is about the GTA Centre in Markham or his own efforts to bring NHL hockey back to Quebec City, Aubut believes the league is more apt to consider you for a team down the road if you already have a venue.

Reached Wednesday morning, just hours after Markham city council had given its thumbs-up for plans for the proposed GTA Centre to continue, Aubut’s first reaction upon learning the result of the voting was: “Wow!”

“The only comment I have is that I have heard rumours that building an arena first might scare off the league because such a move might be viewed as presumptuous,” Aubut added. “I disagree.

“People in the league want to see how serious people are in the project, and that there won’t be any going back or (backing out). When you have a building, it shows there is no going back. The people working on the project are the ones who took the risk by working towards the building.”

Aubut, now president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, said the key now in moving forward with aspirations of luring the NHL is to “be silent. That’s the way the league likes it.”

We’re not sure if Aubut is referring to Markham or the Quebec City project but, either way, Graeme Roustan, the private investor spearheading the GTA Centre, feels it is sound advice.

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Window opens wider for second GTA team

Until the first shovel is rammed into a patch of Markham field that is just a slapshot away from Highway 407, there will be detractors who continue to feel the proposed GTA Centre is merely a pipe dream.

True, no concrete has been poured, as of yet. Fair enough.

But, just maybe, that day is coming. And it might be closer than you think.

In the wee hours Wednesday morning, after most of the media and special interest groups had vacated the chamber, Markham city council moved forward with the next step toward turning the proposed GTA Centre into a reality.

With most of the headlines focusing on the narrow 7-6 vote to continue forging ahead with financing, council then met again and gave the thumbs-up to the project’s blueprint.

“It’s something that really hasn’t been reported, but council went on to approve our site plan,” Graeme Roustan, one of the project’s private investors, told the Toronto Sun on Wednesday afternoon. “That decision really is a milest